Photos & Events Archives
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BURN TO SHINE - SEATTLE
Copy & paste into your browser window: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOLnBVx0Ano
http://trixiedvd.com/bts/05
Burn to Shine is a film series produced by Fugazi’s Brendan Canty and directed by filmmaker Christoph Green. Brendan and Christoph travel from town to town with a posse of shooters and a van full of recording gear to film bands performing in houses that are about to be demolished or burned to the ground. They document the doomed house, the bands, and the demolition, and put it together in a 55 minute film. Each film has a different curator who is entrenched in the respective music scene. This allows the bands chosen to be put in a particular time and place. The bands set up in the living room, playing just one song each for the cameras alone, allowing the viewer to experience them in an intimate setting.
Burn to Shine 5: Seattle: Curated by Ben Gibbard
01 Spook the Horse - “Another New Year”
02 Harvey Danger - “Little Round Mirrors”
03 Tiny Vipers - “On This Side”
04 Blue Scholars - “Morning of America”
05 David Bazan - “Cold Beer and Cigarettes”
06 Benjamin Gibbard - “Broken Yoke in Western Sky”
07 Eddie Vedder - “Can’t Keep”
08 Minus the Bear - “Arctic Knights”
09 The Cave Singers - “Called”
10 The Long Winters - “Departure”
11 Kinski - “Japan”
12 The Can’t See - “Bar Fight”
13 Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive to Death - “Big Bed”
14 Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter - “The Air Is Thin”
The Seattle Version is great !
Information provided by Jen Stippich
2007 YEAR END REVIEW
Hey everyone - I was lucky enough to be included in Light in the Attic’s Year End compilation review. People from all over the planet contributed and it’s a mighty fine list of interesting stuff, especially with regard to the music.
Check it out: http://www.lightintheattic.net
May 2008, really be GREAT!!
New Year’s Eve 2007, at Highway 99 Blues Club on Alaskan Way in Seattle had a full house and everyone was having a great time, including the musicians and entertainers on board to help usher in 2008. For the $10 per person charge, it was certainly a lot of entertainment for the money.Highway 99 Blues Club has attempted recreate the décor of a 40s juke joint and does an admirable job, but even though it does miss the mark a bit there, the standing room only crowd did not mind one bit. The bartenders and servers were decked out in sparkly costumes reminiscent of the 20s and 30s and worked hard to ensure everyone enjoyed themselves.
The evening’s bill was “Second Annual Hayride to Hell New Year’s Eve Bash” starring the Roy Kay Trio, burlesque performers Miss Indigo Blue and Kitten LaRue of the Atomic Bombshells, Ruby Dee & The Snake Handlers, and Wages of Sin.
It was clear from the start that the Roy Kay Trio was quite good, low key and understated without being dull. They’ve been around and know how to warm up a crowd and so they did. Many people sang along and started getting out on the dance floor to their family-style 50’s rockabilly sounds. Then to rev things up a bit more, Miss Indigo Blue did a humorous yet sexy as hell bit for us which included her devouring biscotti after fiercely dipping it in her coffee. Kitten LaRue followed suit with a snappy burlesque dance number.
Continuing the celebration, Ruby Dee & the Snake Handlers, took the stage and this quartet did a fabulous set including many numbers from their old and new albums. Ruby Dee sounds like she’s from Oklahoma or Texas but actually grew up in Northern California. The audience loved them! It was a high-energy set of Northwest alt-country/Memphis rockabilly/Texas honky tonk. As an added bonus, Ruby Dee pulled up her long, red ruffled skirt and energetically danced for an appreciative crowd.
Kitten La Rue and Miss Indigo Blue gave several burlesque performances throughout the evening much to all the gentlemen’s delight and even to many of the ladies as well.
At the end of Ruby Dee & The Snake Handler’s set, all the performers were called on stage as it was nearly midnight. At the right time, everyone counted down from 10 to 1, shouting “Happy New Year!!” and kisses were given to friends and strangers alike in the crowd. Then we all sang Auld Lang Syne backed by Wages of Sin (which sounds really funny when you read that back to yourself, especially if you ever went to Sunday School). Once the noisemaking was over, Wages of Sin took the stage alone and got the crowd really amped up with the its “punk rock, sea shanties and Applachian death polka!”
Wages of Sin is a six-piece band lead by Jesse Stewart and according to their MySpace page, “play traditional music for non-traditionalists…They mix Celtic with country with Appalachian with rockabilly with Tex-Mex with bluegrass, and follow the whole mess with a bracing shot of punk rock.” By the time the second song was begun, everyone in the place was on their feet singing along (even if they didn’t know the words) and were on the dance floor or at the very least dancing in their seats. Once you hear this music, you can’t sit still - you just absolutely must move or at the very least tap your toes.
The food looked decent, heavy drinking was encouraged though the bar was backed up a bit due to sheer volume of orders, but they did have a cash side bar offering Miller High-Life and Pearl Vodka, including Plum and Pomegranate flavors, and best of all, the evening’s entertainment was fun and fabulous! The “Second Annual Hayride to Hell” New Year’s Eve Party at Highway 99 Blues Club was definitely a smashing success.
KILT & MINI BASH 11*10*07
What a totally fun way to help the arts! On Saturday night, November 10, required dress at Nectar in Fremont was short skirts for the girls and kilts for the guys (literally). A terrific Celtic band plus a local DJ gave us lots of movin’ & groovin’ on the dance floor. And to make our evening complete, our own Seattle Firefighters Pipes & Drums gave a robust performance and hung out dancing and schmoozing with the crowd. For more information go to www.kiltandmini.com.
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SLACKFEST SUMMER ‘07
Saturday, August 25, 2007, Seattle area slackers had their own private party and I was invited to be a part of the festivities. I got some great shots, including one of “Baby Ice Age Cobra-ette” at her very first rock concert! The gracious hosts have a beautiful home and fantastic acreage where a not quite drunk bunch of musicians and friends camped out on their various manicured lawns after the best party of the summer.
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CAPITOL HILL BLOCK PARTY 7-07
Having been at the Capitol Hill Block Party Friday night (7-27-07), I was full of expectation for an equally good time on Saturday. It was a sunny afternoon and the mood festive when I arrived so I headed straight for the Main Stage to catch Mirah who was already underway. Mirah, (Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn), in her turquoise spandex pants and tank top, sort of looked like she was heading for exercise class until she turned around with a guitar in hand… Mirah and her bandmates Bryce Panic, Kyle Hanson and Lori Goldston filled the air with light, smooth, ethereal stuff that was at times a little too soft and sweet. Still, a nice performance but they could have used a little more help from the sound crew.
I hurried over to the Vera Stage to catch the Pop Machine. They were a large crew of fresh-faced kids trying to be dark and punkish, yet they happily belted out tunes about things teen. I must admit I didn’t stick around very long as I wanted to catch the Whore Moans.
Ducking inside the dark and dank Neumos, I found the Whore Moans in full swing, rockin the house with attitude like nobody’s business. It was so stifling in there that it was hard to breathe, but then the Whore Moans sort of take your breath away anyway. Their edgy, screamy sounds made everyone want to dance and so the crowd did what they could in close quarters – they bounced to the beats. They got it good.
Note: Several times local politicians introduced the bands on the Main Stage after the Washington Bus organization said a few magic buzzwords. The organization wants us to elect “progressives” who like music. Imagine that.
Running back outside to catch the British punk band, The Cribs, on the Main Stage, I found them to be energetic and interesting and I must admit a few of their guitar riffs were kind of catchy. They were fun but not really all that punk after all. This was my first time seeing them so I’ve got no comparison - perhaps they were jet-lagged? Even so, the crowd seemed to like them just fine.
I found myself going back & forth between the Main Stage and Neumos for most of the day and with good reason – too many good bands in both places even though Neumos was waaaay too hot. At Neumos, Sean Na Na (Sean Tillman) followed the Whore Moans. He was funny and irreverent but this set was the very essence of pop rock – toned way down, just about naked, I’d say. (Later, he even gave a sweaty interview on film without his shirt.)
Next up was local hip hop star, Gabriel Teodros, with an actual real-live band backing him. That pleasantly surprised me. He got the crowd energized and participating as one with arms all back and forth in unison. Teodros brought up several friends to help him out and the entire crew got their groove on to a full house.
Dashing back outside to catch John Vanderslice, who got a bit of a late start - John with drummer David Douglas, fresh from San Francisco, fairly serenaded us with melodious and thoughtful songs to a clearly appreciative crowd. John’s skills on the guitar shone and his resonant voice never waivered through the set. (Later that evening, John did a number with Spoon.)
Inside Hell again, I caught some of the Cave Singers’ gentle southern-style set with Pete Quick’s amazing voice and it made my day. This is a band everyone can enjoy especially if you’re feeling a bit laid back. And, no, it wasn’t “country.”
Then the Main Stage was bumping with Aesop Rock (Ian Bavitz) drawing a huge crowd. He got the listeners wrapped up with great rhymes and hot beats, most of which was new material. Aesop Rock totally brought down the “house” (yeah, Main Stage was outside, but you get the idea).
I couldn’t take Dante’s Inferno any longer, so I stayed outside the rest of the night. Good thing, too, because after Aesop Rock blew us away, Against Me! took the stage with a vengeance. The punk quartet fronted by Tom Gabel shook us up with their loud vendetta against society, but interestingly, Gabel smiled once in a while instead of snarling. Hmmm.
The evening definitely peaked when Spoon took the stage. The Austin, Texas quartet’s frontman, Britt Daniel, lead the boys to dizzying heights as the crowd sang along and chanted, “Louder! Louder!” Spoon gave a polished, poised and professional performance and they even seemed to enjoy themselves, too. They’re inventive pop-style rock n’ roll was satisfying but not one bit edgy though, which is what I had hoped for. Their set brought the largest crowd and was a fabulous way to end a great party.
Good job everybody.
Here are some shots of the Capitol Hill Block Party on Friday night, which was an amazing amalgam of talent. There were too many performers for me to see them all, but here are The Blakes, Matt & Kim, Mass Sugar, Candace Derierre & the Nutcrackers, Blue Scholars and Silversun Pickups. I may have missed a few…
The CHBP continued on Saturday with another amazing group of talent - Mirah, The Cribs, The Whore Moans, Sean Na Na, The Pop Machine, Gabriel Teodros, The Cave Singers, John Vanderslice, Aesop Rock, Against Me!, and Spoon to name the ones I saw. There were more, believe me, much, much more, but I can only be in one place at a time contrary to popular opinion.
